By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

OXFORD – Defending PASS champion Johnny Clark was in the right place at the right time Sunday night. Clark took advantage of a late-race fracas to win the Dodge Dealers 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Mike Rowe looked to be just two laps away from recording his 150th career win at OPS when he and Scott Mulkern got together.

Clark dove underneath to steal the victory, while Bangor’s Gary Smith finished third. Ben Rowe, who started on the pole and led the first 68 laps finished fourth, while former OPS champion Scott Robbins completed the top five.

“I was shocked to see what was happening in front of me,” Clark said in Victory Lane. “I thought we were settling for a top five, but when a gap opened up, I had to go for it. We’re having a great season, and I’d sure love to come back here in four weeks (TD Banknorth 250) and do this again.”

The race was slowed by 15 cautions and took a little more than two hours to run. Drivers were tired, tensions were high and it reflected on the race track.

Mike Rowe was surprisingly calm after the event, taking it all in stride.

“We didn’t have the fastest car, but ran up front most of the night. I thought we had it won, but Scott (Mulkern) had another agenda, I guess.”

Gary Smith, OPS veteran Dale Shaw and Scott King all won qualifying heats earlier in the afternoon. Turner’s Ben Rowe ran away with the DASH race, making him the favorite for a victory.

Kurt Hewins, Kenny Harrison, Jim Davis Jr., Bill Dunphy and Rich Sirois were also features winners on another gorgeous night for racing at the famed 3/8-mile oval. Former Oxford regular Chris Staples won the 25-lap PASS Modified feature, a nice treat for area fans.

In early action, Sirois grabbed the lead from Wayne Parkin on the seventh lap and drove off to a dominant victory in the Mini Stock feature. Sirois came from seventh on the grid and wasted little time in moving to the front. Bill Childs Sr. came from 11th to finish second, while Wayne Parkin claimed third. Randy Barker and points leader Danny Morris completed the top five. Parkin was later disqualified in post-race technical inspection.

Dunphy cruised to victory in the first of two 20-lap Strictly Stock features with a convincing run. Josh May of Norway dogged Dunphy in the closing laps, but settled for second, while Keith Stuart finished third. Roy Weymouth and Don Harvey completed the top five with solid performances.

Davis, a runner-up in his feature Saturday night, grabbed the lead from David Vaughn on the ninth lap and drove to victory in the second Strictly Stock feature. The Sabattus native held off divisional strongman Larry Emerson for top honors, while Chris Coolidge finished third. Zach Emerson and David Tripp worked their way up through the field to round out the top five.

Harrison drove to victory in the 35-lap Limited Sportsman feature, one of the most competitive events of the evening. Four different drivers led, and Harrison came from 11th on the grid to take over the point on lap 24. Steve Bennett Sr. challenged in the closing laps but settled for second, while Dennis Spencer Jr. finished third. Early leader Matt Williams faded to fourth at the finish and Shane Green was fifth.

Hewins won a thrilling, yet highly controversial Late Model Stock feature when the leaders crashed. David Raymond was out front in the closing laps when Buddy Leavitt spun him out going into Turn 1. Raymond, now in the final year of a five-year suspension at Beech Ridge, waited for Leavitt and took him right to the wall. In the melee, Hewins grabbed the lead and hung on to the finish, while Bill Childs and 2004 LMS champion Shawn Martin finished second and third. Chuck Colby and Frank Snow stayed out of trouble all night and completed the top five.